Ski binding



H. JANSEN SKI BINDING Nov. 10, 1953 Filed June 10, 194'? HOWARD JANfiEH fl rTU /VE 5 Patented Nov. 10, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SKI. BINDING Howard Jansen, Chicago, Ill.

Application June 10, 1947,. SeriaILNo. 753,709

This. invention. relates to ski bindings. and has as its general. object to provide a. novel. and. 1m.- provled. ski. binding of. sturdy construction which is. convenient. to manipulate. and adjnst. and; in-

eimensive. to, manufacture. Other objects a-re. to provide a. simplified tom of binding. having, relatively few parts. to. obviate the necessity for the more intricate and expensive. flexible. cable which. is ordinarily employed as a. heel clamp, and; to. provide a, universal; ski

binding which, may be used. with. any size or type of boot. without making any permanent or semipermanent adjustments. in clamping plates and other parts. of the binding. and without. requiring the attachment of plates. or other complementary parts. to. the. boots. Another object. is to provide a binding to fit any size boot by ma.- nipulation of a. single length adjiistment and clamping. lever when the. skiis put. on. Another objectis to provide a binding having improved automatic release. action. in a fall. Still. another object is to provide a novel. heel clamp.

These and other objects will become apparent as the description proceeds in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating. a. preferred embodiment. of the invention. This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application, Serial No; 696,753, filed September 13,, 1946,, for Adjustable Cable Fastener for Ski Binding; The saidcopending application is now Patent No. 2,567,772; issued September 11, 19.51..

lln. the drawings;

Figure l is. a plan view of a ki illustrating the present binding;

Figure 2 is a side. elevation view of parts shown in Figure 1 with a boot. shown in. phantom;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation View showing the clamping lever in released position; and

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view taken on. the line 4-4 ofl igure 1.

The. ski, 126 has affixed thereto a toe clamping or stop plate H secured to the ski by a plurality of screws 12. The numeral l3 designates a sole plate which may be an integral part of the toe clamping plate H or which may be a separate plate secured under the heads of the screws l2 on top of the plate H. Regardless of whether the parts II and is are separate or integral they are permanently and non-adjustably secured to the ski by these screws. The forward end of the plate I l is provided with a boot engaging lip 14 which is curved in plan view as shown in Fi 1 the strips near their rear ends.

ure- 1. to center thetoe of the boot on. the ski so that. it cannot swing from sideto side, and which. is curved or cuppedback sufliciently to engage the end; of the sole of the boot. l5 shown in Figure 2 so that, the toe of the boot will not normally lift. away from the ski.

The plate I I has a flat base portion comprising a pair of spaced parallel strips [6' on opposite sides of the ski to receivethe screws I 2. The strips Hi form longitudinal guides for a tongue 20. which is thereby enclosed between the. top surface of the ski and; the plate [3: with su-flicient clearance to provide a sliding fit. Preferably the tongue 2! contacts the strips "5- only at the: tips of a pair of oppositely disposed projections L! on For the rest of their length, forwardly from projections H, the strips Hi are recessed away from contact with the tongue 20 as indicated, at [8 to avoid a long slip fit; which might jam from rust or dirt, and: for another reason. which will presently appear;

The rear end of the tongue; 20: is provided with an. upstanding lip 2.! which is curved. both in plan and. in elevation as shown to engage and center the heel: of the boot. The lip 2| maybe designed to engage theheel on other boots as well as. the usual cable groove in. the heel, on; a. ski boot, and since the toe lip t is equallycapable of engaging and centering the sole. of an. ordinary walking boot the present binding is not; necessarily limited to use with specially designed ski boots, as are-most conventional bindings. There are: no lateral clamps and no parts to be attached to the boots. A. tension spring 22- anchored to the ski by the screw 23* tends to extend the tongue 20 rearwardly to receive the boot when theclamping mechanism presently to bedescribed is released. This spring also tends to hol'd the ski up against the heel of the boot when the foot is raised. The numeral rs: designates a flexible wire Or"OhE1/l'n connected between the screw- 2-3 and the tongue to prevent stretching of the spring beyond its elastic limit.

The forward end of the tongue 20 has a longitudinal' slot M toreceive a screw ii to hold the tongue down Where it extendsin front of the plate H and to provide lateral guidance for the sliding tongue. This screw is located to align the tongue for the proper lateral positioning of the heel of the boot on the ski since the recesses l8 allow for considerable lateral adjustment of the tongue between the strips I I5. Thus the screw 25 may be moved to one side or the other to swing the tongue around one of the projections I! as a center, it being understood that the screw is left loose enough to allow the tongue to slide freely. After this screw is secured in place the tongue 26 is restrained from twisting on the ski to thereby hold the ski in proper alignment with the boot. The tongue is sufficiently flexible in a vertical direction to permit the heel to rise up off the ski in walking.

The tongue is pulled forwardly into clamping position by one or more springs 26 of sufficient tension attached to a bail 27 which is pivotally connected at 23 with an overcenter clamping lever 36. The clamping lever 36 has two parallel side walls 3| in which a transverse fulcrum pin 32 is secured. This fulcrum pin is receivable in any one of a series of notches 33 in the upper edges of the upstanding parallel sides of a base plate 34 which is attached to the ski by screws 33 and 36. A resilient guard 37 is also secured under the heads of these screws to hold the fulcrum pin 33 in the notch in which it is placed, while at the same time permitting the pin to be moved from notch to notch to change the length adjustment of the binding. If desired, one of the screws such as the screw 35 may be left somewhat loose to allow the guard 37 to spring more readily in moving the fulcrum pin from one notch to another.

The present construction provides a binding which is adaptable by a single convenient adjustment to shoes or boots of any size, length or style. The width of the boot is immaterial because there are no side clamping plates. Regardless of its width or shape the boot is automatically centered on the ski by the curvature of the clamping lips l4 and 2| as shown in plan view in Figure 1. When the free end of the clamping lever 30 is snapped down against the ski, the bail 27 passes over center with respect to the fulcrum pin 32 to hold the binding in clamped condition. The rear spring 22 exerts considerably less tension than the spring 26, whereby substantially the full tension applied by the clamp is effective on the tongue 26 to clamp the heel of the boot and to hold the toe of the boot securely in the lip I l.

a limited extent against .the resilient restraint of the tongue 26 in bending and the spring 22 in stretching. Thus, the ski is held firmly to the boot for purposes of skiing but in the event of a fall, both the heel and toe of the boot are readily releasable by a strong twisting or sidewise movement.

A further important advantage of the present binding is its release in a forward fall. The length of the chain l9 allows the heel to rise off the ski sufiiciently for normal use without becoming taut, but in a forward fall the chain pulls the lip- 2| out of engagement with the boot heel to thereby completely release the binding from the boot. The toe of the boot is also releasable by an abnormal upward pull.

Various changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts and all such modifications within the scope of the appended claims are included in the invention.

Having now described my invention and in what manner the same may be used, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a. ski binding for securing a boot to a ski, a toe stop plate having a flat base portion to extend under the shoe sole and be secured to the top surface of the ski, a transverse upstanding lip on the forward edge of said base portion to hold the toe of the boot for skiing and to release the boot in case of an abnormal upward or lateral pull, a flexible tongue slidable through said stop plate to engage the heel of the boot, guide means for said tongue in said stop plate allowing said tongue to slide longitudinally and swing laterally, a slot in the forward end of said tongue, and guide means in said slot adapted to be secured to the ski in adjusted position in front of said stop plate to adjust the lateral position of the heel engaging portion of the tongue prior to use of the binding.

2. In a ski binding for a boot, a toe stop plate having a flat base portion to be secured rigidly to the top surface of a ski without projecting over or beyond the side edges of the ski, a transverse upstanding lip on the forward edge of said base portion arranged so that said base portion extends back under the sole of a boot in skiing position on the ski, said lip being curved rearwardly at its upper edge at an angle to the horizontal sufiicient to hold the toe of the boot on the ski in normal skiing without impeding upward release of the toe of the boot in an abnormal upward pull and said lip being curved laterally sufficiently to hold the toe of the boot centered on the ski without impeding sidewise release in an abnormal twist or lateral pull on the boot, a pair of guides in said base portion, and a longitudinal slidable fiat heel engaging tongue in said guides, said guides having opposed rounded projections under said base portion to engage and guide said tongue with the ends of the tongue in different lateral positions of adjustment, said upstanding lip and said heel engaging tongue constituting the sole means for securing the boot to the ski.

HOWARD JANSEN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,176,226 Reed, Jr. Oct. 17, 1939 2,208,829 Barieau July 23, 1940 2,236,874 Hvam Apr. 1, 1941 2,246,153 Wallace June 1'7, 1941 2,338,249 Jansen Jan. 4, 1944 2,396,373 Henrichsen Mar. 12, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date r 136,678 Austria Feb. 26, 1934 148,177 Austria Dec. 28, 1936 603,512 Great Britain June 17, 1943 845,670 France Aug. 30, 1939 916,637 France Aug. 26, 1946 

